It was said of JS Bach that, at the organ, his feet moved faster than most players’ fingers. You could say the same about Joseph Nolan.

Connoisseurs of the best organ playing will already know this. After all, Perth-based Nolan is an internationally acclaimed organist of the first rank, and his recordings of Widor’s music in particular have won him countless accolades.

Joseph Nolan performing with West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Organ Grandeur, 2022. Photo © Rebecca Mansell

As for the rest of us, we were left in no doubt following this account of Samuel Barber’s Toccata festiva for organ and orchestra, which included a blistering assault by Nolan on the work’s show-stopping pedals-only cadenza.

Written by Barber in 1960 for the dedication of the Philadelphia Academy of Music’s new Aeolian-Skinner organ, the Toccata festiva abounds with sparkling passagework and gorgeous melodies. All of which gave not only Nolan, but WASO and its Principal Conductor Asher Fisch ample opportunities to explore the expressive potential of a musical language many will associate with the composer’s celebrated Adagio for Strings. And to display the qualities of the Perth Concert Hall’s Ronald Sharp organ...